I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to obtain a paint-out copy image like an image obtained by painting characters with a felt-tip marker, an original for the paint-out copy is separately prepared, and multi-copy operation must be performed, resulting in cumbersome and time-consuming operation that causes many copy errors.
Another conventional apparatus is proposed to designate a desired area so as to copy only the desired area of the original. However, if a plurality of areas are designated, colors cannot be assigned to these areas in one-to-one correspondence. For this reason, complicated manipulation is required such that the recording cycle must be repeated a plurality of times.
In a conventional copying machine, the multi-copy mode and the two-sided copy mode cannot be simultaneously selected. In another conventional copying machine having copy modes such as color, masking, and trimming copy modes, it may be assumed that these modes are combined, and that a copy cycle is performed in a combination of modes. For this purpose, it is assumed that the combination of modes is designated by a single key operation. However, in this case, there are a plurality of modes having identical functions. As a result, the operation may often be complicated.
In conventional copying machines, copy mode data is cleared when a reset key is turned on or when a predetermined period has elapsed. However, trimming data and masking data require complicated and time-consuming input operations. If an operator accidentally depresses the reset key or turns off the power switch, such data must be registered again, resulting in inconvenience.
The operator had been able to designate only one area in the conventional copying machines. However, when a function for designating a plurality of areas is developed, the positional relationship among the designated areas becomes unclear. As a result, it is difficult to obtain a desired image.
In order to designate a desired area on an editor such as a tablet for designating the original area and to obtain a multi-copy or two-sided copy image with different colors, the operator must operate both the operation sections of the editor and a recording apparatus. As a result, such a system has poor operability.
In a recording apparatus having a middle tray for temporarily storing recorded sheets, the middle tray cannot be used for the different types (e.g., sizes) of sheets or at the time of paper jam. Therefore, two-sided copy or multi-copy cannot be desirably performed.